For some time, window regulators have generally been used in vehicles to raise and lower a window pane. A window regulator comprises: a guide rail that extends along a movement direction of a window pane; a drive section attached to a lower end of the guide rail; a drum that is rotated by a torque received from the drive unit; a carrier plate that is slidably mounted on the guide rail and serves to support the window pane; two power transmitting members each having one end connected to the drum and another end connected to the carrier plate; and a guide and pulley that are attached to an upper end of the guide rail and serve to change an arrangement direction of one of the power transmitting members.
Vehicle doors can be roughly divided into types that have a sash for regulating an upper end position of the window pane and types that do not have a sash. The method of regulating the upper end position of the window pane is different for each type. In a door having a sash, the upper end position of the window pane is regulated by the window pane contacting an upper portion of the sash. In a door not having a sash, the upper end position of the window pane is regulated by the carrier plate contacting a stopper member provided on the guide rail or other portion. When the carrier plate contacts the stopper member, the motor is restrained and a large electric current flows, resulting in a possibility that the motor and/or a control board of the motor will be damaged by heat. Therefore, a circuit breaker or a PTC thermistor is provided on the control board to shut off electric power to the motor and stop the motor when a large electric current flows.
When contact of a carrier plate against a stopper member provided on a guide rail or the like is used as the regulating method, an impact absorption body made of rubber or another elastic material is provided in-between to absorb the impact occured at the time of contact.
For example, Laid-Open Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-132080 (Patent Document 1) discloses a window regulator having a damping member and a carrier plate. The damping member comprises a damping main body fitted into a wire guide member provided on a lower end portion of a guide rail and a mounting leg section that engages with an engaging hole of the guide rail. The carrier plate is provided with a contact member that contacts the damping member.
Laid-Open Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-129831 (Patent Document 2) discloses a window regulator having a damping member and a carrier plate. The damping member comprises a circular arc-shaped contact section and an insertion section. The contact section is assembled with a cable guide provided on a lower end portion of a guide rail and contacts the carrier plate, and the insertion section has a narrower width than the contact section. The carrier plate has a contact section that contacts the damping member.